Learning something new every day: Oct. 5 is World Teachers' Day. If you can read Innovate Long Island, thank a teacher.

October 5, 2018

Welcome to the weekend: And kudos, courageous reader – you’ve conquered another busy workweek and earned a two-day respite.

It’s Oct. 5 all over the place, and if you had Heraclius arriving at Constantinople in 610 AD, killing Byzantine Emperor Phocas and becoming emperor himself, well done. Nobody saw that coming. Especially Phocas.

We could learn a thing or two: Here in the 21st Century, its World Teachers’ Day, a United Nations World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization creation dating back to 1994. It shouldn’t take a special day to salute people who play such a critical role in our society, but it’s kinda nice that they get one.

This date in history, like, literally: The Gregorian Calendar, still in use today, took effect in Italy and other Catholic countries on Oct. 5, 1582.

Any landing you can walk away from: Pilots Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon Jr. completed history’s first transpacific flight in Wenatchee, Wash., on Oct. 5, 1931, after a 41-hour flight from Misawa, Japan.

They crash-landed, by the way, after their plane’s retractable landing gear – at the time, a new innovation – fell off. But both pilots survived.

We interrupt this program: Thirty-third U.S. President Harry Truman made the first presidential address televised live from the White House on this date in 1947.

Those were the days: Appealing to Democrats, liberal Republicans and law-and-order conservatives, former California Gov. Earl Warren was sworn in as the 14th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 5, 1953.

Bond, James Bond: And “Dr. No,” the first 007 film based on the novels of Ian Fleming, premiered on this date in 1962 in London.

Happy birthday, Blofeld: Speaking of Bond, “You Only Live Twice” archvillain Donald Pleasance (1919-1995), who also starred in the original screamer “Halloween” and four of its sequels, marks a birthday today.

So do 21st U.S. President Chester Arthur (1829-1886), “father of modern rocketry” Robert Goddard (1882-1945), scheming McDonald’s kingpin Ray Kroc (1902-1984), “Family Circus” cartoonist Bil Keane (1922-2011) and National Hockey League legend Mario Lemieux (born 1965).

Scary good: And take a bow, Clive Barker – the English horror writer and film director turns 66 today.

So, who wore Ernst Stavro Blofeld best – Pleasance? Telly Savalas? Charles Gray? Christoph Waltz? (We will not accept votes for Max von Sydow, because “Never Say Never Again” is an abomination. More of an aBondination, actually.)

Share your dossier at editor@innovateli.com, where the story tips and calendar suggestions are for our eyes only.

About our sponsor:SUNY Old Westbury is a selective public liberal arts college serving more than 4,300 students from Long Island, New York City and around the world. With graduate programs in business, education, mental health counseling and more, Old Westbury offers cutting-edge instruction and convenient scheduling, all at the affordable rate of SUNY tuition. Own your future.

BUT FIRST, THIS

JFK all the way: Calling New York “the nation’s front door to the world,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday laid out plans for a $13 billion renovation of John F. Kennedy International Airport, including $12 billion in private funding.

Anchored by two new world-class international terminal complexes, the new JFK advances the governor’s vision for a unified and interconnected airport system (LaGuardia Airport, also located in Queens, is in the midst of its own $4 billion upgrade) featuring world-class passenger amenities and improved regional highways.

Thursday’s announcement follows last September’s selection of Mott MacDonald Engineers and Grimshaw Architects as master planners for the JFK overhaul, which the governor’s office projects will increase the former Idlewild Airport’s annual capacity by 15 million passengers. The facelift should be wheels up by 2025, according to Cuomo, and “will not only ease travel through this major hub, but will ensure JFK joins the ranks as one of the finest airports in the world.”

Stating the facts: Trumpeting the university’s positive influence on the Long Island economy, its rising student enrollment and other positive developments – including major additions to the Stony Brook University Hospital system and the most successful fundraising effort in school history – Stony Brook University President Samuel Stanley Jr. delivered his ninth State of the University Address this week.

Stanley, who became SBU’s fifth president in May 2009, had plenty to crow about in Wednesday’s address, including total student enrollment this fall eclipsing 26,000, four-year graduation rates that jumped by 17 percentage points between 2007 and 2014, a plethora of impressive rankings by higher-education publications and the planned opening this winter of several new Stony Brook Medicine facilities, including the campus’ shiny new Medical Research and Translation building.

But Stanley’s proudest moment might have been his recounting of the Campaign for Stony Brook, which raised a total of $630.7 million from nearly 48,000 donors. “I know we’ve had a lot of challenges in the past year, but I think these rankings and the recognition we receive shows that people are seeing Stony Brook as a vital, impactful institution,” the president said. “And ultimately, that represents the hard work everyone is putting in.”

TOP OF THE SITE

Love connection: How do you grow critical Internet-connectivity networks on an island where NIMBYs hate things like cellular towers? Marc Alessi and friends offer some heartwarming answers.

Chemical attraction: The dean of SUNY Old Westbury’s School of Arts and Sciences has earned a rare bouquet from the American Chemical Society.

Affection, by the numbers: Northwell Health is understandably sweet on its new chief revenue officer, a longtime company man with a history of strong leadership skills.

Hitting the wall: Fast Company dives deep into the science behind the 3 p.m. slump.

ON THE MOVE

+ John Terrana, partner at Uniondale-based Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP, has been appointed to the advisory board of Westbury-based Lynx Mortgage Bank’s Commercial Division.

+ Robert Flicker has been hired as regional vice president, account management, at Melville-based benefits consultancy Corporate Synergies Group. Previously, he was area president at Jericho-based Gallagher Benefit Services.

+ David Loglisci, a partner at Uniondale-based Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP, has been appointed president of the Columbian Lawyers Association of Suffolk County.

+ Signature Bank has appointed a new private-client banking team to its Woodmere office. Naor Boxer has been named group director and senior vice president; he worked most recently at Citibank as a Citigold relationship manager. Lisa Murphy has been named group director and vice president; she worked most recently at Citibank as a Citigold relationship manager in both Manhattan and Long Island. Michael Weinberg has also been named group director and vice president; he was most recently a Citigold relationship manager in Long Beach

BELOW THE FOLD

The nightmare before Halloween: Check out this handy (if spooky) website keeping tabs on Long Island’s seasonal haunted houses.

It’s the greatest pumpkin, Charlie Brown: The Peanuts gang would love to have this record-breaking gourd in their pumpkin patch.

Another week in the bag: Have a great weekend, folks, and please remember to support the amazing institutions that support Innovate LI, including SUNY Old Westbury – one of only four New York colleges offering a master’s degree in forensic accounting, among other innovations.